Tougher bans likely to be introduced by WADA, statute of limitations to be extended

World Anti Doping Agency moves to toughen up stance and introduce four year sanctions from 2015

Looking to ramp up the penalties against those who are guilty of breaking its rules, the World Anti Doping Agency is moving closer to doubling the length of the ban for serious doping offences and also extend the statute of limitations for cases.

WADA held an extraordinary meeting as part of the European Council’s meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday and the changes to its Code were discussed there. The new measures are closer to being approved and seem likely to come into effect on January 1st 2015, in just under two years’ time.

Natalia Zhelanova, head of the Russian Sports Ministry’s Anti-Doping Department, told Ves Sport news agency about what modifications could be coming into effect.

“The new edition of the WADA Code directly affirms that the testing can be performed at any place and any time by any anti-doping organization which has jurisdiction over an athlete,” she said. “The standard period of disqualification for the first doping offense is extended [from two] to four years, besides for a number of exceptions.”

In addition to that, she said that even in retroactive cases, all of the athlete’s results during the period of suspension would be stripped.

Another proposed change relates to the statute of limitations in relation to legal action on possession and use of performance-enhancing drugs. This would be extended from eight to 10 years and, for other offences including the prescription and distribution of doping products, would increase to fourteen years.

A proposal to do away with the B sample has been overruled at this point, meaning that both A and B samples seem likely to remain in use beyond 2015.

The Lance Armstrong/US Postal Service case is one potential reason for the increase in the statute of limitations. Ordinarily, the eight year limit would have meant that USADA would have only been able to strip him of two of his titles, but the agency was able to bypass this as he had lied under oath in the past.